Former Congress MLA Kripashankar Singh’s wife Malatadevi and son Narendra have to pay Rs 56.98 lakh to Standard Chartered Bank; calling upon the borrowers to repay the amount, the bank has taken symbolic possession of the tiny flat

Narendra Mohan Singh, son of former Congress MLA Kripashankar Singh, had put up his Carter Road flat on sale in August last year and was demanding a whopping Rs 1 lakh per sq ft.

Last year, Narendra Singh had put up his flat in Oceanic Building on Carter Road, for sale, and claimed that it would fetch Rs 7.4 crore

However, nearly a year later, a bank has taken symbolic possession of the same flat for the failure of Singh and his mother Malatadevi to repay a loan of Rs 56.98 lakh.

The flat is located on the fifth floor of Oceanic Building, measures 740 sq ft and has two bedrooms. The notice (dated May 22) has been issued by Standard Chartered Bank. On August 2, 2014, mid-day had reported on this issue (‘At Rs 1L/sq ft, will this be Carter Road’s costliest realty deal?’).

Cough it upThe notice categorically states that both Narendra Singh and Malatadevi are borrowers from the bank. It specifies that, under section 13 (2) of the SARFAESI (Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest) Act, the bank was calling upon both borrowers to repay the amount mentioned in the notice at Rs 56.98 lakh.

The notice cautions the borrower in particular and the public in general not to deal with the property. It confirms that any dealing with the property will be subject to the charge of Standard Chartered Bank for an amount of Rs 56.98 lakh. Standard Chartered also says that it has taken symbolic possession of the property since the borrowers have failed to repay Rs 56.98 lakh.

High hopesBack in August 2014, after putting up the flat for sale, Narendra had told mid-day, “It’s a sea-facing apartment and I am expecting Rs 1 lakh per square foot. Which means, I should get R7.4 crore for my property.” Now he claims that he called off the deal.

When mid-day contacted Narendra, he said, “We are paying the full loan amount within 45 days, and we failed to pay a few EMIs earlier, but in month of April, it has been paid.” He also claimed that people whom he is in touch with in the bank were also surprised that the notice has been issued “all of a sudden.” A detailed query to the bank yielded no reply till the time of going to press.